Nozfest 2019

1865, Southampton

Featuring: Massive Wagons, Those Damn Crows, Bigfoot, Marco Mendoza, Stop Stop, Beth Blade and the Beautiful Disasters, The Outlaw Orchestra, The Wicked Jackals & 27 Days

Nozfest is the brainchild of young up and coming promoter Jodie Harris; who up to this point has been putting on a variety of live music Rock Nights across a variety of venues, mainly in the South of England. With the amount of contacts she has made in the industry; along with the help of her Father and friends, she decided to create her first festival naming it after a nickname she was given when she was young. The festival’s aim is to support and help further grow the new movement of the New Wave of Classic Rock, which is typically at the heart of the band selection. (#NWOCR) After almost a year planning the event, the day is finally here. Nine bands which include some pretty major names and a sell-out crowd gained over a week before the festival.

It all kicks off at 2pm with a four-piece Bournemouth glam rock band called 27 Days; who start things off well with a great set full of mostly original material, as well as a great sing-a-long cover of “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness which the crowd really enjoy. Next up all the way from Watford are “The Wicked Jackals” who show themselves to be really up for the task of warming this audience up. With some excellent six-string work from the two axemen Ollie and Marty; this band gives out some excellent and well delivered hard melodic rock, with large amounts of sleaze. Lex on bass and James on drums do their best to shake the foundations of this building thoroughly.

27 Days 1–2–3–4

Just as we are all getting comfortable in our surroundings local rednecks The Outlaw Orchestra hit the stage and suddenly the audience almost doubles in size. These guys don’t take any prisoners and totally storm the stage with double bass, lap steel, guitar, and banjo a blazing. They are a hybrid of Southern Rock mixed with Bluegrass, along with a host of hilarious stories to tell. Frontman David Roux is a great character and keeps entertainment levels high throughout. They are a band that would seem comfortable playing on any stage getting a fantastic reception from their home crowd, who lap up their original tunes which include “See You in Hell”, “Too Much Willie Nelson” and “Back In Georgia”.

The Outlaw Orchestra 1–2–3–4–5–6

Beth Blade and the Beautiful Disasters from Cardiff continue the high momentum next with some hard-hitting melodic Rock with heaps of no-nonsense rock n’ roll attitude. These guys and front-girl make their trip down South really worthwhile with a high energy set full of great chorus-led tunes that leave a lasting impression on the audience. They are treated to tunes including “Hell In High Heels”, “Jack And Coke” and an epic last number “If Your Ready to Rock”.

Beth Blade 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8

The trio from Barcelona called Stop Stop drag themselves to the stage dressed as pensioners, with grey wigs and drab clothing. They initially struggled to get started due to a few technical issues with the amplifiers, but when they did they ditched the old man act and jumped into action with massive amounts of unbounding energy along with copious amounts of hair. They have choreographic dance moves between the bassist and guitarist, while the drummer hits his skins so hard they can be heard in Portsmouth. You cannot fail to be hypnotised by their tunes with everyone having some sort of mesmerizing hook to it, like “Poseur” and “Join The Party”. For the final number, the band leave the stage with their instruments and take to the audience, continuing their final number in the crowd. A hugely entertaining band and very worthwhile addition to this festival.

Stop Stop 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8

One of the coolest rock stars on this bill today is Marco Mendoza, who has been in a host of top bands including Whitesnake, Black Star Riders, Thin Lizzy and currently plays with The Dead Daisies. Today he has just flown in from New York to play a 35 minute set with his band comprising of Kyle Hughes on Drums and Michael McCrystal on guitar. They show complete professionalism with a faultless set full of highlights; including original tunes from Marco’s latest solo album including title track “Viva La Rock” and “Hey Baby”, along with a stunning cover of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers “Higher Ground”. Marco is certainly one of the nicest guys around and after his set was more than pleased to mingle with the crowd signing autographs and having his picture taken.

Marco Mendoza 1–2–3–4

As we head into the evening the three final acts are huge bands that have rightly earned their places high on the bill, through hard work and amazing live performances. The first of these is Big Foot, a band who have recently delivered the sad news that they are to disband after this final tour with their last date on 20th September in Sheffield. Putting that to one side they arrive on stage with their huge melodic guitar sound that radiates to every corner of this hall, and the proverbial cherry on top is the excellent vocals from frontman Sean Seabrook. With his impressive vocal range along with the superb musicianship from all the players, show that since forming in 2014 they have gained themselves a small army of fans. They leave the stage after an outstanding 45 minutes set and are given plenty of love from the Nozfest audience.

Big Foot 1–2–3–4–5–6–7

Those Damn Crows are currently riding the crest of a wave with their popularity just increasing month by month. After momentous sets at this year’s Download Festival and Steelhouse Festival the band have been offered the chance of headlining the Planet Rock Winters End festival early next year. These five guys from Wales certainly know how to entertain a festival crowd and bound onto the Southampton stage and kick off with “Don’t Give A Damn”. After playing this very venue recently supporting Stone Broken, their newly gained fans sing the words enthusiastically right back at the band. Frontman the ever-smiling Shane Greenhall is all over the stage, effortlessly engaging with the audience making their experiences as memorable as possible. The band is only on their first album with the second on it’s way soon but act like a band that have been around much longer. Their set is full-on anthems that genuinely uplift, live favorites like “Behind These Walls”, “Blink Of An Eye” and the rousing “Rock n’ Roll Ain’t Dead” which almost lifts the roof off this place. These guys are genuinely going places and will be playing to much larger audiences in the years to come and they so deserve it.

Those Damn Crows 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9

The headliners like Those Damn Crows have had one hell of a past 18 months with things escalating very quickly for them. Massive Wagons have done tours supporting The Wildhearts, Thunder and an arena jaunt supporting Lynyrd Skynyrd/Status Quo including a date at the prestigious Wembley Arena. These guys from Lancaster have taken it all in their stride and put maximum effort into all their shows, no matter where they are performing. Even before they hit the stage the crowd are chanting “Wagons, Wagons, Wagons!”, the atmosphere in this place is just amazing and as they take to the stage the crowd reaction is just incredible. Following Those Damn Crows is no easy job, but Massive Wagons raise the bar up very high. Frontman Baz in his red tartan suit and bowler hat steams around the stage like a madman possessed, delivering his hard-hitting vocals with ease. You can’t fail to be enchanted by the epic ‘Billy Ballonhead’ or sing along to the infectious “China Plates”. They deliver a set that openly proves that they are one of the best new upcoming bands out there today.

Massive Wagons 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–10–11–12

And that is the first Nozfest! It started as a young promoter’s dream, that she found with plenty of effort it soon became a reality – something that like other like-minded Southern festivals including Winter’s End and Love Rocks will just grow.